FRS 004 — Sec. 005
— (2 units) — CRN 26061 — T 3:10-5:00pm — 263 Olson
Nanomaterials: From Biology to Applications
Instructors: Subhash Risbud, Marjorie Long and Roland Faller, Department
of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, College of Engineering
Description: In this seminar, we will discuss general concepts
and specific examples of nanomaterials. Nanomaterials are commonly defined as
materials with an average grain size less than 100 nanometers (one billion nanometers
equals one meter). The average width of a human hair is on the order of 100,000
nanometers and a single particle of smoke is in the order of 1,000 nanometers.
Due to the materials’ very small size, they have some amazing, and in
some cases, novel properties. The nanotechnology industry has produced ultra-bright
“quantum dots” and ultra-light “aerogel” materials from
nanometer-scale particles. Chain-like molecules called polymers also display
novel properties when confined to the nanometer-scale. Even nature takes advantage
of nanotechnology, by organizing the cell membrane into nano-domains, or so-called
lipid rafts. In the future, hybrid nanomaterials are expected from combinations
of “hard” and “soft” nanomaterials. The set of instructors
teaching this course are working on one such system, the supported lipid bilayer.
We will introduce the basic materials
and biological concepts and techniques and talk about the biggest challenges
that lie ahead. Both experimental work and computational approaches to these
problems will be discussed. The seminar is based on research conducted by our
Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team (NIRT) which involves the three instructors
of this course, graduate and undergraduate students in several disciplines.
As an added benefit they will learn to understand that modern research is only
possible when different disciplines are working closely together.
Format: This seminar will meet two hours per week—class
lecture and lab demonstrations. Students will become aware of the technological
and biological importance of nanomaterials. Each of the three instructors will
talk of their expertise areas and discuss the value of research across disciplines.
All sessions are interactive; students are expected to prepare themselves for
class by reading material prior to the class. Grading:
Students are expected to write a term paper at a level understandable to the
public at large with basic literacy. The term paper will be about 500 words
long and can be chosen on a topic of interest to the student in consultation
with the instructors Examples could be “How does life work at the molecular
level?”. Grading 2/3 Term Paper, 1/3 general participation. Pass/No pass
grading.
About the Instructors: Professor Subhash H. Risbud
is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California in Davis as well
as a Visiting Professor at Stanford University. At UC Davis he has been active
in graduate and undergraduate education for over 16 years. His interests are
in nano and biotechnology and glasses, ceramics. Risbud has been a mentor to
many graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and undergraduate research assistants.
Graduates of the Risbud group have established highly successful careers in
industry (Corning, Intel, GM and IBM); at well-known universities (Carnegie-Mellon,
Georgia Tech.); and government laboratories (Los Alamos, Batelle, Livermore).
Professor Margie Longo's research group has a focus on lipid
bilayers, primarily the interaction of proteins and small solvent molecules
with lipid bilayers. She has developed several supported lipid bilayer systems
with an eye toward utilization in an array formats; specifically these involved:
micro-patterning of bilayers using SAMs, polymer cushioned lipid bilayers to
detect peptide insertion, phase-separated lipid bilayers, and polymerized lipid
bilayers. Longo developed a course-grain/mean field model in which Monte Carlo
simulation is applied to predict and understand the relationship between amino
acid sequence and membrane insertion in small peptides (such as gp41 of the
HIV virus). A highlight of her educational development was participation in
the California State Summer School for Mathematics and Sciences Program during
summer 01-03. Longo and two other faculty members developed and taught two 6-week
courses: "interfacial science" and „scientific method‰
for age 12-18. In addition, she has worked one-on-one with five high school
students for 6-10 week periods through this and similar programs. Through the
NSF MRSEC, CPIMA, she has advised 8 undergraduates for 10-week research sessions,
3 became primary authors on publications.
Professor Roland Faller is a member of the faculty in the Department
of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science. His research interests include
the computer modeling of soft materials, especially polymers and biomembranes.
Current projects include the interplay of membranes with alcohols and sugars
and theit interaction with surfaces. He also studies fundamental properties
of glasses and polymedr mixtures. He teaches courses on thermodynamics both
for undergraduate and graduate students as well as introduction to computer
simulation.